New water tracker for Murray Darling communities to trace flood flows

An environmental water consultant has created a website to track the floodwaters that are reviving the Murray Darling Basin.

Tony Sharley said he was not commissioned to develop the water tracker website, but because he could not access collective data about water flows for the entire river system.

Mr Sharley said a lot of water data is from the Murray Darling Basin Authority.

"I've certainly referred that through to the Murray Darling Basin Authority to ensure they're comfortable with it," he said.

"And to let them know it is happening, but it's not in a sense environmentalists, scientists, it's people who live in those communities downstream of rivers that are in flood, that really want to know where water is, how big it is and how long it's going to take to get there."

Mr Sharley, who's from South Australia said recent flooding events across the eastern seaboard of Australia will help bring the entire Murray Darling Basin back to health.

Mr Sharley said his data analysis tool can educate people on how the basin is linked, particularly in times of flood.

"This event now that's arriving in South Australia at 90,000 megalitres per day will virtually water all of the wetlands," he said.

"It's filled the lower lakes, it's flushing an enormous amount of salt out to sea."

"So the beautiful thing is, it's re-setting the whole system to a relatively healthy level."

Mr Sharley said floodwaters from Queensland should arrive at the Murray River in around seven weeks time.

He said the floodwaters in in the Murrumbidgee, Edward-Wakool, Campaspie and Loddon Rivers will also converge.

"So that basically is all collected, moves down to the South Australian border, the Darling water is then added to that at Wentworth."

"And by the time it arrives at South Australia in about 12 days time, that should peak at around 90,000 megalitres a day and that is just a really healthy environmental flow," said Mr Sharley.